Language Learning Tips: How to Teach a Foreign Language to Multilingual Children

This video contains language learning tips on how to TEACH a FOREIGN LANGUAGE to multilingual children. What to do if you want to support your child in a language that you don´t dominate. Get useful tools and info here: www.multilingual.family/sign-up
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IN THIS VIDEO:
→ Language learning tips on how to teach your multilingual child a foreign language.
→ A practical example of my own life.
→ The importance of audiobooks.
→ 4 proven steps to take to support your multilingual child in a language that you don´t dominate.
In this video, I give you one of my strongest language learning tips on how to support your multilingual kids in a foreign language. I share with you everything I do to teach my 4-year-old daughter a 4th language - with great results. You will also know about a powerful resource that often gets forgotten: audiobooks.
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Download FREE tool "Strategy Builder" here:
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Where to ORDER THE BOOK "Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss":
USA
Books in German: amzn.to/3bzEZoQ
Books in Spanish: amzn.to/2Z182iu
UK
Books in German: amzn.to/3cwgz0z
Books in Spanish: amzn.to/2AjOrzu
GERMANY
Books in German: amzn.to/3d2cdhp
Book in Spanish: amzn.to/2WwIqbD
Italy
Books in German: amzn.to/2WsrwdZ
Books in Spanish: amzn.to/3bokwD3
SPAIN
Books in German: amzn.to/3bqZkws
Books in Spanish: amzn.to/3ct00Tn
Where to buy AUDIOBOOKS:
www.audible.com
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OTHER VIDEOS FOR YOU:
→ HOW TO RAISE A TRILINGUAL BABY
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→ HOW TO IMPROVE CONCENTRATION AND FOCUS IN MULTILINGUAL KIDS
• How to Improve Concent...
→ PLAY "CORONA-BINGO" - WHAT TO DO AT HOME WITH YOUR MULTILINGUAL CHILD
bit.ly/39TnQoY
→ IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO RAISE MULTILINGUAL KIDS?
bit.ly/2wwvM1F
→ HOW WE RAISE OUR TRILINGUAL CHILDREN
bit.ly/2SVVDYq
→ HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN A CHILD LEARN?
bit.ly/37FaqMg
→ LANGUAGE STRATEGIES - BEST METHODS FOR YOUR MULTILINGUAL FAMILY
bit.ly/392YtSb
→ HOW TO SPEAK MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE WITH YOUR CHILD
bit.ly/2P8GRwb
→ PASSIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING
bit.ly/2P7WCn2
→ CODE-SWITCHING
bit.ly/2vK0VOE
→ SHOULD I CORRECT MY CHILD'S SPEECH?
bit.ly/2V6RH9Q
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ABOUT ME:
Welcome to Multilingual Family, your space to discover how to raise multilingual kids successfully.
My name is Andrea Breitenmoser and I'm a teacher, specialized in languages. I was raised bilingual and now I'm raising my children trilingual. Let me share my experiences and know-how with you!
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DISCLOSURE
This video contains affiliate links.

[@MultilingualFamily]

Newsletter sign-up: ⭐ www.multilingual.family/sign-up Get a one-on-one consultation with me: ⭐ www.multilingual.family/coaching-call-60-min

[@sdoken]

Ich moechte dieses Video auf jeden Fall wieder sehen. Das ist so voller Wissen. Vielen Dank!

[@lic.denissesalasa.1334]

Muchas gracias...adquiriré libros así 👍🏻

[@lailatov123]

Hello Andrea! I’ve recently started following your videos and they have been very informative! I’ve been trying to figure out how I can manage to speak 3 languages with my daughter (I’m a few days away from giving birth!!). Here is my situation. I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. Meaning I am fully bilingual French/English. 20 years ago, I moved to Mexico. So now I am fully fluent in Spanish. My husband is Mexican, so he speaks Spanish and has an intermediate level of English. We communicate 80% of the time in Spanish, 15% in English and 5% in French (mainly when he hears me talk to my baby inside the womb in French or with family/friends over the phone and then he repeats random sentences here and there when we interact with baby in the womb). I want to teach my baby French as she will only learn it from me (we live in small town Mexico so there is no other French around). My husband says he would like to speak to our daughter in English but the reality is that Spanish comes more naturally to him and because of the environment, Spanish is the main language spoken at home. We have gotten used to interacting in Spanish and sometimes in English (few hours per week or sometimes less). My issue is that coming from a French/English background, I have family that only speaks English or only speaks French. And I want my daughter to communicate in all 3 languages. I am also concerned that if I only speak French to my daughter, while the father is present, I am excluding him from a “family dynamic” because he doesn’t speak French. And also, what language should I speak to my daughter when we are with other people, here in Mexico (eg. When with the Mexican side of the family)? Could I teach my daughter both French & English without confusing her? What should I do??? So many questions!!!! Ahhhhhh!!! Lol

[@MultilingualFamily]

Hello Laila! Thank you so much for your comment. The growth of this channel has led to lots of people seeking for personal advice. I would really like to help you but supplying this channel with valuable content consumes all of my spare time. In addition, it requires often more than just a few lines to answer your questions thoroughly. This is what I can offer you: - A personal consultation. We would arrange a date where I analyze your family situation and together, we find the best strategy for your multilingual family. This option gives you the possibility to ask follow-up questions. - A paid Q&A video. I would take your personal situation and shoot a video answering your questions. The difference to the consultation is that it is not interactive, and it gets published. - Continue to profit from the free content I offer to my subscribers. Sign-up here www.multilingual.family/sign-up to be notified when new courses and free material come out and/or watch my other videos, as they contain plenty of free helpful tips. - I will be offering a step by step online workshop for multilingual families in approximately one year. I hope that one of these options suits you. Send me an email to [e-mail] with your choice of preference. I would love to stay in touch with you. Thank you for your understanding and all the best to you and your family! Andrea

[@sdoken]

I keep coming back to your videos and just recommended this video to people in a whatsapp group who were talking about teaching a non-native language to children. This video has inspired to me buy some audiobooks for my son. One question: I cannot help but think that learning german when you already learned swiss german must be easier but I do not know for sure if that is the case? Like it has got to be harder for a child who hears english and turkish from parents to pick up german like this from books/audiobooks. Thank you and I hope the family trip is going well in Ecuador!

[@MultilingualFamily]

Hi Semih! So glad to hear from you. Yes, it is an advantage to have languages that are somewhat similar because obviously many words are even the same. Sometimes it can be tricky though to differentiate the languages. Kids learn it though pretty fast if the sources of input of the languages are high and consistent. Audiobooks and books are only supplements. At some point you will need to expose your child to real human beings that speak German. That's when they are going to make bigger jumps in their language development. If you read to your child in German, you will already have a great positive impact on your child's language development in German. Have a great time and greeting to your family!

[@mirunapopescu]

Both me and my husband are native Romanian speakers, but we decided I'll be the parent to speak in English to our children. For various reasons, I developed a much stronger connection to English, even though I didn't really speak it until highschool. Nowadays, English is my default, and I have to make an effort when using Romanian. I don't really feel at home culturally (if that makes sense) in either one, but English has been the language of freedom and opportunity. We're both learning French and I'm hoping it'll become the safe home I didn't feel I had before. At least from where I'm standing now, it looks like a good middle ground I could feel comfortable in. But I feel so much shame speaking a language that isn't my own so much better than my native one, and I'm also insecure about passing it on to my children when I probably have a bit of an unusual accent. I don't want to pass my complicated legacy to my children, but I don't really know how I'm going to work through it. My native country didn't love me very much and so I have to leave, but I still feel like a traitor.

[@MultilingualFamily]

Hi Miruna, I see that your situation is a bit complicated. Normally, the best thing to do is to use the native language, if it is the strongest. In exemptional situations (like yours) it might be ok to use EN instead. If your native tongue is not well developed and you have a rather negative connection to the country and language, it might make sense to use EN instead, since it´s the language that you feel most comfortable in. Still, not passing on your heritage language also has it´s negative sides. Think about, for example, how your child is going to develop his/her identity. We humans have a natural desire to know where we come from and what our roots are.

[@mirunapopescu]

@@MultilingualFamily thank you for the reply! I figured that, since both me and my husband have the same nationality, he could be the one to pass on the language. He has fond memories of his grandmother, who was a Romanian teacher. The child would also speak with everyone else in the family in Romanian. And we'd visit as often as we can (France isn't too far away). I'm pretty close to my family. Besides, if we both spoke Romanian to them, they would be monolingual. I received a C2 equivalent grade on the Cambridge exam when I was still in highschool. Those things aren't the be all, end all, but I am pretty good at English. I know how important their heritage is, and I'm ready to support them in every way I can. I just fear that, if I'm the one teaching them the language, they'll just reject it anyway.

[@kemalcelikkaya7196]

Hello Andrea, thanks a lot for all great content! We are going to have a situation that we will be targeting to teach our second foreign languages (Mother : English C1/C2, Father : German and English). Both of us has a native language Turkish and we are living in a Turkish speaking country. As I understand from your videos; OAOL and OSOL methods will be more suitable for us, where my wife will take over the English education and me the German. How soon should we start this and how intense it should be? Which situations are more suitable? Should we prioritise one of the methods to the other or combine them? Thanks a lot in advance! Kemal

[@MultilingualFamily]

Hi, what is your strongest language? That one is the best one to use as a relationship language to your child. The other languages that you master, you can introduce by using the OSOL/OAOL so in you case a combination of methods would probably be what you are looking for. It really depends on what your goals are and also on your first or strongest languages. I would love to help you, but I need more information to give you good advice your your specific case. Consider subscribing to my mailing list, since I'm about to release something that will probably help you: www.multilingual.family/sign-up otherwise I can offer you a one-on-one consultation to help you set up a strong strategy. Just drop me a message if you are interested. Kind regards

[@seedee42]

I am so happy I just recently found your channel! It’s probably the best I’ve found about raising multilingual kids. My question is this: my native language is English, but I am acutely aware that English is one of the easiest languages to learn in the world today- most school systems teach it and it you want to choose a language in multilingual group English is usually the go to. Therefore, I am considering not speaking my native language, English, to my child as the main language. I have been speaking Spanish since I was 4 and learned Swiss German as a young teen when I lived in Zürich, but I know I will never be as proficient in those languages as I am in English. Do you have any advice on what I should do? Should I stick to English and use other materials and people for the other languages or take advantage of my knowledge and let them learn English from the world around them? Anyways, Thankyou for wonderful content!

[@MultilingualFamily]

Hi Clair, definitely speak with your child in English. You can still practice Spanish if you have a proficient level using the OSOL method or the one I like to call OAOL. Check out my other videos for more inspiration on how to do it. Have a nice day and thank you for your nice comment!

[@WarriorJournals]

Personally, I'd speak to them in Spanish 90+% of the time. If you've been speaking Spanish since you were 4, then you are most likely proficient enough to do this. I know it keeps being said that this could teach them mistakes that are hard to correct, but, I have a far different perspective on that for several reasons. My father's native language is Spanish, and he never spoke to us in Spanish-only English, which he began learning at 7yrs old, and our English turned out fine, as we were supplemented in school and our environment, and our native English speaking mother. Any mistakes were corrected in school. And far more English mistakes were learned from our USA deep South country speaking mother! 😂 Just like we would have learned mistakes in Spanish had our native Spanish speaking father spoke to us in Spanish, as he's never had formal schooling in Spanish even though it is his first language. So mistakes are bound to happen. Another reason is that because he never taught us Spanish, I was never able to communicate with my Spanish speaking family. This was isolating, depressing, and, frankly, traumatizing. As a child, I'd have given almost anything to be able to communicate with them, even if I made some mistakes. I was so desperate as a child to learn Spanish that I tried teaching myself at the age of 7 from a Spanish vocab book I found at a book fair. I still remember the feelings of hope and desperation trying to learn on my own. So, though I'm not a linguist, I say mistakes are better than nothing at all, and they can be fixed-and the child will still be more comfortable speaking the language and learn that it's ok to make a mistake and learn from it and then fix it. I mean children, and adults, make lots of mistakes when speaking informally anyways. As of now, I've spent years studying Spanish starting in highschool, and I'm still not great. But I do know a lot, and I'm using everything and every resource I can to teach my 6-yr-old niece Spanish (have been teaching her since she was a baby). I speak to her as much as possible in Spanish, and if I don't know a word- we look it up together! This is the best I can do for now as there are no Spanish schools, programs, tutors, or even other Spanish speakers in our area. But I do know, for dang sure, that what I'm giving her is better than not giving her any Spanish. Even if I'm making mistakes, it's better than nothing. And she'll grow up feeling much more connected to her Mexican culture than I did-which is an amazing gift in itself. In the end, of course, do what you feel, but I felt the urge to share my experience in this subject and to share that mistakes in language are ok, and your child will only benefit from your Spanish. My father's English wasn't perfect, but it worked out fine for us-just as if he'd used his native, imperfect, unformal Spanish with us. Sorry, for the long answer, it's a passionate and personal topic for me. 😆😁

[@MultilingualFamily]

@@WarriorJournals Hi Anna, interesting story. In your case your father took his strongest language to talk to you, and that makes a lot of sense. In the end it's about looking at the pros and cons of your unique situation. If you feel that you can pass on your culture to your child in a certain language, then do it. It is a very individual decision, but it has to be well thought through.

[@Mac_an_Mheiriceanaigh]

​ Anna Maria Hola, Anna, no sé si te interesan los libros pero si quieres algunas ideas para ayudarte te recomiendo el libro Family Language Learning by Christine Jernigan. Ella escribe de su experiencia hablando portugués con sus hijos. La realidad es que Andrea tiene razón en cuanto a algunas cosas pero como ella acaba de decir en su respuesta, depende en mucho y es una decisión personal. It is so important that your child learn English because this is the language that you are most you -- and a child needs her mother more than any language. Pero como ya dijiste tú otros idiomas también pueden formar parte de la identidad. Por supuesto que puedes hablarles español a tus hijos (o sobrinos). Pero no seas tú la sola fuente de este idioma. Find other moms who speak Spanish with their children and arrange play dates. Travel frequently to Latin America or to Spain. Listen to audio books, youtube videos, etc. Show them Spanish TV. Sign them up for a Spanish-English bilingual school (ya son muy comunes en los EEUU). Si tu hija oye que todos dicen algo de una manera y tú de otra, she will change to be like them. En su libro, Christine talks about how her children speak Portuguese like natives even though she doesn't. Y al final, lo peor que podría suceder, es que, como dices, acaban hablando español pero no perfectamente. Y esto sí es mucho mejor que nada.

[@Mac_an_Mheiriceanaigh]

Dear Claire, I just wrote a long other reply but I just want to say one thing again a little more. Anyone can speak to their child in their native language. It is a wonderful way to give them a gift. But it is possible for you to speak to your child in another language, it just means more work for you. The most important thing to remember is that your child needs you, your real, whole self. For a lot of people, it is not possible to be themselves completely in a foreign language. If you can do that, then of course you should. I think this is what Andrea is referring to when she says if you feel very comfortable in this second language. The book I recommended in my previous reply (Family Language Learning by Christine Jernigan) is about empowering parents to speak languages they are not really comfortable with with their children. It assumes that they will still speak perfect English because they are growing up in the US. So the risk is lower. But there is another problem that people less often talk about. I have a good friend who speaks to her children in English even though her English is bad. Her children do not speak her language at all and they cannot understand any of their relatives -- it is similar to Anna's experience. The worst part, however, is they cannot really know their own mother, because she cannot really be herself in English. It is a common difficulty for immigrant parents who do not raise their children bilingually -- they and their children can find themselves disconnected because the can never really understand each other since they do not speak the same language. In the end I am just storytelling when I meant to be trying to give advice -- I want to say that you should speak to your children in Spanish if you want, just make sure that your Spanish doesn't stop you from being yourself.

[@valentinav9571]

Let’s say a kid’s parents did OPOL with their respective language. Now, in adding a foreign language: Would it confuse this child if both parents utilized OAOL and the reading/audio materials you mentioned here for the 3rd language (that both parents have equal intermediate levels in) ? Or is it better for one parent to be in charge of OAOL. I just wonder whether both parents can use the same prop/method to prompt switching into the 3rd language without confusion.

[@MultilingualFamily]

I think that can work, just try to be as clear as possible when switching to the other language. If you level in the additional language is intermediate, I would suggest to just sing songs or read books and/or use audiobooks, music and videos in those languages. Contacte me if zou want more help building up a strong strategy for your particular case ([e-mail]).

[@Mac_an_Mheiriceanaigh]

Hola, Andrea, es que tengo una pregunta algo personal para ti... nunca te da miedo que algún día tu hija decida only to speak to you in Swiss German or High German? Soon German will be her dominant language after she spends more time at school. ¿No te asusta que algún día podría decidir que ya no le gusta hablar español? It seems since she speaks to you in German in these accessory- or situation- based circumstances she doesn't really have a need to speak Spanish. ¿Me equivoco o también piensas igual? Wouldn't it be better for you to stick more strictly to OPOL since your daughter will already learn both forms of German at school? Me interesaría que hicieras video o que comentaras lo que opinas tú.

[@MultilingualFamily]

Hi Mac, that is a good question. I might make a Q&A video about that :). But just to answer it very quickly: No, I'm not scared at all but I am aware that German will become very dominant. I've invested and keep on investing lots of time in building up a solid relationship to her in Spanish. I used the pom-pom only in the beginning to help her start talking in Swiss-German. Now she can speak it well, so I don't have the need to practice that anymore. I've started using another accessory to practice High German, but I never use those languages as a relationship language. I think that that makes the difference. Unless I stop supporting her Spanish skills, I'm pretty sure she won't reject using it.

[@Mac_an_Mheiriceanaigh]

@@MultilingualFamily Muchísimas gracias, Andrea, I really appreciate your response. I admire you so much -- it looks like you have done everything so perfectly so far! I hope you continue to share your story with us as your daughter and son grow older.